It was hard being an old fluffy. Biotoys were never really meant to get old, they were supposed to live more or less five years before their organs would give out. Meaning Rutherford was practically ancient at eight and a half years old. He’d lived with his mummah his entire life, a kind older woman with hair as grey as his fluff. She was wonderful, in his opinion, a gentle woman who cooked a giant pot of marinara all friday afternoon to feed her grandkids and their fluffies friday night. He would play with his fluffy “cousins” all evening while the humans talked and laughed, eat a big bowl of sketti with them, and say goodbye knowing he would see them again in just a few bright times. He had no saferoom, instead sleeping in his mummah’s bed with her. His toys took up the bulk of the living room, Mummah’s friends said he was spoiled rotten. Maybe he was. All he knew is that he was getting all the huggies and love a fluffy could want.
Until Mummah didn’t wake up.
His mummah had a stroke late one thursday night, slipping peacefully into the next life with her beloved fluffy cuddled by her side. Somewhat of a blessing for poor Rutherford, her children showed up friday evening to an inconsolable fluffy that had only missed a single meal. He was lost in the shuffle of funeral planning, no one really wanted to care for him. Maybe it was his mopey demeanor, maybe it was the possibility of his pricey vet bills, who knows? All Rutherford knew is that he was taken to a shelter.
Shelters do their best for their fluffies, but life in a kennel will never be ideal for a creature as social as a fluffy. With his advanced age it wasn’t safe for him to be in the general population pen, and so he was left to waste away in a dark kennel in the back. No one wanted geriatric fluffies. Adopters wanted foals, colts and fillies, or young adults just settling into their personalities. Rutherford was quiet, well behaved, but he was boring. Even he knew he wasn’t likely to see the outside of his metal cage again, watching the younger, brighter fluffies get adopted day after day while he lay on his thin blanket and nosed around the bland kibble he was given.
Poor Rutherford had all but given up.
He didn’t really care when one of the workers came to put him in a carrying cage. What did it matter where he went? He would never see home again… He lay his head on his hooves while the cage jostled and shook. What was the point of hope? His mummah, the light of his life, was gone. He would never see her again. There was just… waiting for the next day. Waiting for the forever sleep to take him too, and hope that he could see her in skettiland.
“Hi, little guy!” Rutherford lifted his head, a kind voice snapping him from his thoughts… “You awake in there?”
“Yus.” He replied softly.
“Oh good! You want to come out and get settled?” A hand reached down and opened the cage door.
He could see twinkling lights just outside the door, like Mummah used to put up during the cold times. It hurt his chest to think about, the smell of her cookies, the happy music playing, all the people in the house talking and laughing and hugging… the cold time was his favorite part of the year. Very slowly, joints creaking, he stepped out of the carrier and looked around the room. It was larger than the place he stayed with his mummah, with a much bigger inside tree.
A large man was smiling down at him, and pointed over to a small bundle of blankets under the tree. “Do you have a name already?”
“Am Wuthewfowd, nice mistah.” The blankets felt great, soft and plush compared to the thin threadbare thing the shelter workers gave him. He settled in with a contented sigh. This was much better than the kennel.
“Well nice to meet you, Rutherford! What a name.” The nice mister leaned down and tied a soft ribbon loosely around his neck. “Can you promise to be real quiet tonight? We don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
He nodded, eyes growing heavy, unsure what the mister meant. He was just happy to have somewhere nice to lay after all those nights on the cold metal of his kennel. It was nice and warm, bundled up in this nice blanket and bathed in the twinking lights of the tree. He slipped into a deep sleep, the first good rest he’d had since he’d left his mummah’s house.
“A FLUFFY!! A FLUFFY!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!” A screech jolted the elderly earthie awake, and he shrunk into the blankets in fear.
“Easy! He’s a little spooked, little guy has been through a lot. Speak softly, let him get comfortable.”
Humans were gathered around the tree Rutherford slept under, one young one dropping to his hands and knees to grin at him. “Hi!”
“…Hewwo…” Rutherford replied cautiously. Why were they yelling? Did he do something wrong?
“I’ve always wanted a fluffy! I’m so excited, we’re going to play in the snow, and watch movies, and-” The little human continued listing off fun things to do. Rutherford was confused though, looking around. This was how the little humans talked when they made friends with the young fluffies at the shelter, but he didn’t see any other fluffies. He lifted up the corner of the blanket to make sure he wasn’t laying on any of them, some of the foals he’d seen were small enough to hide under him.
“His name is Rutherford.” The nice mister said.
“Rutherford! I’m Kerry! We’re going to be best friends!” The little human said to him, holding out a hand.
“Dat am Wuthewfowd’s namsie…” He frowned as the human patted him on the head. They couldn’t be talking about any other fluffy, he’d never met another fluffy with a name like his.
“It’s a fun name! We’ll have to get you a collar with it. Or a T-shirt! That would be cool, we could have matching T-shirts!!”
Rutherford blinked, feeling the young human’s fingers dig into his fluff and scratch him behind the ear, just like Mummah used to. This… This meant…
“Am… Wuthewfowd… home??” He asked.
“Yes! You live here now!” The little human replied. “This is the best!! Thank you Dad!!!”
Rutherford didn’t hear what the nice mister said in reply. A sob worked its way out of his chest, multiplying into heaving sobs that made his entire body shudder. The small human quickly wrapped him up in a tight hug, soothing him with a hand rubbing his back. It felt wonderful, as the happy tears stained the grey fluff of his cheeks he wailed into the chest of his new best friend.